Several Board members joined the Jigsaw Foundation team to take a closer look at two Jigsaw Foundation projects in Tameside and learned how they make a difference in Jigsaw’s communities.
Group Chair of Board, Fay Selvan, and Board members Roli Barker, Yvonne Cartley, Lynne Garsden, Janet Mutch, Dave Addy and Clive Elliott were accompanied by Donna Kelly, Group Director of Neighbourhoods, Suzanne Bullock, Assistant Director of Neighbourhoods, and Jigsaw Foundation team as they visited Richmond Street Community Centre and The Together Centre.
They met with volunteers, staff and visitors from each centre and learned about the different work each project provides in the community as well as how Jigsaw Foundation funding has helped residents and users of each service.
Richmond Street Community Centre received £8,383 in Foundation funding from 2022/2023 to help develop resident group socials with activities from professional Tai Chi classes, Bingo, quizzes and training courses.
The Together Centre was awarded a grant of £9,875 for 2023/2024 to provide hot meals once a week for residents unable to get out of their homes. In 2022/2023, the project ran for 10 months and provided 79 Jigsaw residents with a total of 1,610 meals. Currently, 50 Jigsaw residents use the service to receive hot meals despite the project being live for one month.
Fay Selvan said: “I really enjoyed the visit to both centres and they demonstrated the power of communities helping themselves. They showed that with just a little bit of support people can achieve a lot. It was particularly interesting because one of the projects we didn’t fund this year but this has stimulated them to think of ways to sustain themselves.”
Roli Barker, Chair of Jigsaw Homes North, said: “As Board Members, we hear about all the good work Jigsaw does and we were able to see first-hand how the Jigsaw Foundation supports communities and community leaders.
“I spoke with visitors, volunteers and staff who told me how much they enjoyed the time spent at both centres. As they thanked us for the support they’ve received, and I couldn’t help but think that it should be us thanking them! They give vital support to local communities by providing food, meals, health and wellbeing activities and a safe space to meet and make friends.”
